Red
by Jade Dagger
Summary: A few moments of Kate Beckett's life.


Disclaimer: Not Mine.

Spoilers: 'Home is Where the Heart Stops', 'A Death in the Family' and a brief mention of events that took place in my other Castle story, 'Three Days. If you stand on your head and squint, you might catch the teeny crossover reference. Battle Maze is a name for an as yet non-existent movie,

Was the name of Beckett's father ever mentioned? I don't recall. For now, he can be Jim. If the name actually did pop up somewhere, Ill correct it.

My rendition of the events in "Death in the Family" was only supposed to be a paragraph here. Instead, it'll eventually get its own story.

This was _supposed _to be song four of the 10 songs, 10 drabbles thing that has been making its way from fandom to fandom these past few months. First few songs didn't give me anything, then Something in Red showed up and it was more like a drabble a verse.

I don't have a beta. So my apologies for any errors the spell check and I missed.

"Something in Red" performed by Lorrie Morgan

_I'm looking for something in red  
Something that's shocking to turn someone's head  
Strapless and sequined and cut down to there  
Stockings and garters and lace underwear  
The guaranteed number to knock the men dead  
I'm looking for something in red _

Kate Beckett loves the dress Castle sent her for the fund raiser gala. Just don't expect her to admit it; especially to him. She tried to brush it off with Lanie. It was just a dress, after all. It wasn't that big a deal. However, Lanie would have none of it as she leaned smugly against her friends bed until Kate finally admitted it.

She knew he was sneaking glances on the ride over. The first time, she pretended to be annoyed. Then she ignored it, choosing instead to focus on the road. However, the glances thrill her. Casual stuff and smart suits for the better part of the last few years, its been a long time since she's dressed up and taken a night out on the town. As a matter of fact, she can tell you the last time was with four other female police officers the weekend after they graduated from the academy. She's startled to realize its been that long.

It's been years since a man has looked at her as Castle tries not to look at her now. As Ryan and Esposito do as they walk inside. As countless others do as well.

It feels damn good.

_I'm looking for something in green  
Something to out do an ex-high school queen  
Jealousy comes in the color of jade  
Do you have some pumps and a purse in this shade  
And a perfume that whispers "Please comes back to me"  
I'm looking for something in green _

Kate looks herself over in the mirror one last time before heading out. Its a release party for the second in the Nikki Heat series. Unlike Derek Storm's send-off, where she had first met Castle, this was supposed to be a little more formal.

Right.

She remembered the Storm release all to clearly, and the first of the current series. She'd have to remember to ask one of his author buddies what THEIR release parties were like.

Kate Beckett was also very nervous.

She and Rick Castle had been seeing each other outside the precinct for a couple of months. However, that tidbit of information wasn't common knowledge except to a very few people.

There have, of course, been dates. Dinners, movies, trips to a local mall with Alexis for things like laser tag and bowling, and they did spend large amounts of time at each others apartments. However, dinners and time at the others place could easily be attributed to casework. More often than not, even now, it still was. For every real dinner date they had been on, there were at least three spent munching on takeout or something one of them had cooked, tossing ideas back and forth in regards to one case or another.

As far as movies were concerned, her colleagues were none the wiser that she and Castle had seen the first hour of _Battle Maze_ three times together. They never could finish it because someone keeps committing all the odd murders on her day off.

Even more than that, Kate Beckett was about to enter New York City's 'high society'. For all the money her family had, they rarely dabbled in it. Didn't participate in the galas, the balls, the charity dinners for this or that, or any of the other things attributed with being part of the City's upper class. If she really tried, she could barely remember, as a child, the occasional night out her parents had where her father dressed in his tuxedo and her mother dressed in gorgeous evening gowns. But those had been few and far between.

She remembered some of Castles reluctant advice from months ago. She had been considering going along with him to one of his 'things' that Gina had talked him into. He would be MORE than happy to have her accompany him, he had said, but he had also suggested that when people ask her what she did, that she not right out say 'cop'.

"A lot of the people here," he had said with hesitance "were born into it. Raised this way. Raised with the idea that men and women of 'class' have a certain... dignity to uphold. Roles to play, I guess. Being a cop isn't one of them."

"What, because I'm a woman?" She had tried not to be offended. She really did, but there were still some things...

"Well, not necessarily." he tried to assure her. "They just don't like their kids running off and becoming something other than the social norm. Doctors, lawyers, businessmen... things like that. Well educated and rich. Cops don't usually make it in that category. They seem...beneath them, I guess. I know of a couple of guys who rebelled. Ones a federal agent, and the other is somewhere in the Marines. One was disowned because of his decision. The other almost was. The only reason he wasn't was because he enlisted in 9/11's aftermath. Though he did get slack for enlisting and not going to OCS."

Kate understood, unfortunately. At that point she had begun to regret her decision to go along with him. Fortunately..or un, as it should have been, days before the event the precinct got called in on a multiple victim homicide. For the better part of the next few days, sleep for Kate and her partners may have well been power naps. Even though they got the killer before the event, Kate was absolutely exhausted. There was no way she'd be able to make it through the soiree. Not only had Rick understood, he was afraid he'd have to go through extreme measure so she WOULD stay home and rest. So, it had worked out.

Back in the present, Kate sighed, and looked over herself in the mirror one last time before heading out to the living room where Castle was waiting. She could do this. She _would _do this.

_I'm looking for something in white  
Something that shimmers in soft candlelight  
Everyone calls us the most perfect pair  
Should I wear a veil or a rose in my hair  
Well, the train must be long and the waist must be tight  
I'm looking for something in white _

She wondered where the time had gone. In some ways, it had only seemed like weeks ago that she had gone to the release of the final Derek Storm book in search of its author when a string of murders mirrored his novels.

In reality, it had been almost two years. Two years of a journey that began with an reluctant partnership (on her end, anyway), filled with verbal sparring and bickering, each trying to keep a step ahead of the other; to a tentative friendship that was almost shattered after Castle had gone against her wishes in regards to her mother.

Kate shuddered as she recalled those months. After he had told her everything, she shoved him out of her life with no intention of ever seeing him again. The time following had almost killed her. The old wounds had been reopened, and it was as if her mother had just died yesterday. And this time around, to know that it WASNT random, that she had suffered so... That combined with the pain from Castles betrayal had put her into a deep depression. Yes, she still got the went to work, did her job, got some rather bizarre murders, and solved them, but her life was focused completely on her work. Under direct orders from Montgomery to not go anywhere near her mother's re-opened case, she had instead gone overdrive with the others. If it wasn't work related, she shut everyone out. No one knew what to do.

It was only pure, dumb, luck that she and Castle stumbled into one another by accident one day a few weeks after her mother's killer was caught.

Figures. Richard Castle had put her in this mess. Richard Castle had finally been the one to get through to her and bring her back.

Rebuilding their relationship had been a slow, sometimes painful process. Trust had to be earned again, but in time, she had forgiven him. They had finally been able to move on.

Kate looks down to her hand, where her mothers ring rests. Even now, shes still not sure how he pulled it off. They had taken a weekend and headed up to one of New York's ski resorts after a month that had been jammed with case after case. If she wasn't already working through her day off, she was called in. At the first chance, Rick had taken her away on a much-deserved vacation, even if it only was for a couple of days. In their wanderings, they had found a nice niche that had a decent view of the sunset. They watched in comfortable silence, his arms wrapped around her. As the last glowing edge finally sunk beneath the horizon, he heard Rick whisper in her ear.

"Marry me." Kate blinked, startled and turned her head to look at him.

"What?"

"Marry me." he said again. He gestured down to his hands, and Kate was shocked to see her mother's ring in his palm. She spun around in his arms, eyes wide, her own hands going to her throat where she finally discovers the chain that she's worn for so many years, that she remembers putting on this morning, remembers shifting against her skin as she flew down the slopes that afternoon, isn't_ there. _

Rick winced, misinterpreting her reaction.

"I'm sorry. I took a risk, I talked to your dad and I thought her ring would be okay, I..." he was forced to shut up when she pressed her lips to his. It was several moments before they finally broke apart.

"Its fine. Its MORE than fine" Kate assured him, her forehead against his "it just shocked me. I've had it on all day, how did you manage to take if off without me noticing?" she asked, and inwardly groaned as he grinned smugly in that way she both loved and hated. Getting THAT answer would be a long time coming.

"So..." he began again, but his voice much more hesitant, "is that a yes?" Kate smiled and kissed him again.

"Yeah. That's a yes."

Kate smiled to herself. They had come a long way since then, and fought hard for what they had. Between some departmental brass and concerns that her relationship with a celebrity would affect her job, and the criticizing eyes of the sometimes-harsh upper class, and the press, there had been a few trials, and there would be more. But with a confidence she had rarely felt before, she knew they could handle them.

_I'm looking for something in blue  
Something real tiny,the baby's brand new  
He has his father's nose and his chin  
We once were hot lovers now we're more like friends  
Don't tell me that's just what old married folk do  
I'm looking for something in blue_

She should have gone back to bed. She wasn't sure when he would be this quiet again, but there was just something...she couldn't take her eyes off the sleeping infant. She leaned over the crib, lightly running her fingers through the soft hair. Luckily, he didn't stir.

Of course, it was easier now that he wasn't screaming his head off. John Castle had turned out to be a colicky little thing. Peaceful nights (and sometimes days) had been a rarity these past couple of weeks, and everyone was getting close to their wits end. Though Alexis would never admit it, she really couldn't wait for fall break to be over so she could return to the peace of her university. Kate couldn't blame her. This was also one of the few times she was glad that money wasn't going to be a problem any time soon. Her maternity leave granted by the NYPD would be coming to and end soon, but at this rate, there was no way she was ready to go back to work. For one, she wasn't ready to leave her son yet. For another, she and Rick were up at almost all hours of the night as it was, and an exhausted police officer was dangerous in the field, and not that much better off on desk duty. The sleep deprived had a tendency to miss things sometimes. So, no. Kate didn't feel the least bit guilty about taking advantage of her new-found wealth and requesting extra time off.

She recalled last week when her father had come to visit. He had looked on with amused sympathy as the boy refused to be comforted. Kate questioned his amusement, and he informed her and Richard that Kate herself had gone through such a stage as well. On a good day, she could put a banshee to shame. Kate had flushed with embarrassment while Richard had grinned at her...until John (who had been in his arms) had taken that moment to remind Daddy that, no, it wasn't that funny. After being passed from Dad, to Mom, to Grandma to no avail, he finally made his way to Grandpa Jim's arms.

The look on the families face was priceless as John's screams immediately quieted to a mere whimper, and Jim's own expression was nothing but smug triumph. Rick had immediately stated that he was going to get the guest room ready and that Jim was more than welcome to stay as long as he liked. Unfortunately, Jim ended up heading home a little after dinner. At least they had managed to get John to bed first.

Kate's pregnancy had taught her many things, but mostly, it had taken her patience to a whole new level. When Kate announced they were expecting, Rick was thrilled, but he was also absolutely terrified. His previous experience with Jeremy had left him scarred, and the thought of it happening again was, of course, unthinkable. It hadn't helped that they never did find out why Ricks first son met the fate he did.

At just about everyone's insistence, Kate ended up on desk duty almost as soon as word of her pregnancy got out. Every now and then, Kate still ended up with the occasional strange case from time to time, and with that came with equally strange suspects. No one was taking chances. If Rick had his way, she would have been on leave immediately. They could afford to have her not work for the better part of a year. Wisely, though, he didn't start that train of thought until much later. Even so, it still drove Kate up the wall. He'd let her do very little, initially. She had tried to tell him that she wasn't an invalid, she was still capable of doing things. The pregnancy was fine. No issues, no complications. THAT had been a mistake. Richards eyes were pained and angry as he ground out that Meredith's last one had been fine to, and look how THAT turned out.

In the end though, everything turned out alright, and three days after his due date, Jonathan Richard Castle made his entrance in a wonderful display of healthy lungs. It took a week before Rick could hold his little boy without crying, but at least this time they were tears of joy.

_I'm looking for something in red  
Like the one that wore when I first turned his head  
Strapless and sequined and cut down to there  
Just a size larger than I wore last year  
The guaranteed number to knock the man dead_

_I'm looking for something in red_

Kate frowned as she pushed dress after dress aside in her closet. Nothing fit. Well, okay. Everything _fit.___Everything fit perfectly. The problem was that nothing was _suitable. _She and Richard were headed to an NYPD benefit that night, and she didn't have a thing to wear.

Actually, any one of these dresses would have been fine. The problem was that, NYPD or no, Kate had no desire whatsoever to go to this thing. In the past couple of weeks, time with her family had been scarce. No matter how hard she tried, there was always something. Aside from her usual murderous workload, there had been a shift in the NYPD hierarchy. The newest batch of New York City councilmen had decided to do some things a little differently, and it was taking its toll. Sure, it LOOKED good in on paper and in theory, but take it to the streets? No. Not only was regular paperwork piling up, but almost every form had been updated and now had another couple of pages. Oh, there were also issues with some new software the Department had installed, therefore delaying things even more so. Evidence processing lines were backing up as well, and there were some new procedural steps in autopsy as well. She had been privy to more than one of Lanie's rants on the matter.

It seemed lately her only time with her eldest son was when she took him to preschool in the mornings. She never thought she'd come to appreciate the City's rush hour traffic, but lately she'd take any moment she could grab with him. Though she did sometimes make it home for dinner, most of the time it was well after the youngsters bed time, and even Kate herself was bone tired, making conversation and other time with anyone difficult.

It wasn't only her, unfortunately. During the rare times she did have some time off recently, Rick was busy. The deadline for the fifth book was looming, and he had run full speed ahead into a wall. Apparently he was having issues making something in chapter four work.

Kate had learned many things about writers in the past couple years, or at least _her _writer. Be it a chapter, a paragraph or a measly sentence, if something was wrong he wouldn't leave it alone until he fixed it. She had grumbled at him more than once for keeping her awake at night with his constant tossing and turning as he played over his story in his head. On those nights, he was usually in his office by the time she woke up the next morning.

At least with Vincent, it really didn't matter whether the infant was awake or not. While John had seen fit to cry through his first few months of existence, this one slept like a log. At first it concerned his parents because it had been on the other side of the spectrum from his brother. Even Alexis had cried more than this, Rick had said. After a thorough examination, the doctors said there was nothing to worry about. So this meant that late in the evening after the child had been put down for the night, Kate was still able to pick him up from his cradle and rock him, speaking to him in low tones of this or that, and he'd rarely waken.

Now, Kate had all but given up on finding something decent to wear to the Gala when she saw it, hidden in the back of the closet; almost forgotten after so many years. Pulling it off the rod she looked it over. It would do...but would it fit? As much as she worked out to stay in a physical shape necessary to do her job (and keep up with her boys), it had still been years, and she'd had two children. Surely it wouldn't still fit...

She tried it on anyway, and was amazed when the zipper slid up almost effortlessly up the side. Her makeup was done in a matter of minutes, and she left the bedroom to go out to the living room where Rick was waiting for her, idly sifting through some of his notes. As Kate came up behind him, she ran her fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck to get his attention. He glanced up at her briefly, then back to his papers, in the motion of setting them down when he did a double take. Kate was pleased when his eyes darkened as they raked over her as he stood up. From his eyes, she wondered if they'd even make it out the front door.

She'd be lying if she said the thought disappointed her.


End file.
